• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Compensation & Benefits

One more reason to be skeptical of ‘Doctor’s notes’

12/01/2007

A growing list of web sites—such as FakeDoctorsNotes.com, MyExcusedAbsence.com and PhoneyExcuses.com—sell customizable templates of doctor’s notes, jury duty notices and even funeral announcements. The Associated Press recently highlighted one of the sites in an article that, no doubt, was forwarded to millions of otherwise unaware employees …

RSVP: Holiday party during FMLA leave?

12/01/2007

Q. An employee who is unable to work has been out on FMLA for the past few weeks. Our holiday party is coming up next week. Should I allow her to attend if she wants to? …

Employer’s mistake doesn’t extend FMLA leave

12/01/2007

It’s not always easy to calculate exactly how much FMLA leave an employee has coming. Rest assured, though: If you make a mistake, you can fix it. Just be sure to fix it as soon as you discover the error so your mistake doesn’t harm the employee …

Entice boomers to take advantage of direct deposit

12/01/2007

Your baby boomer employees—those born between 1946 and 1964—are more likely to demand paper paychecks than younger workers and those older than 61. The main reason: They don’t trust direct deposit, says a survey by the U.S. Treasury Department …

Workers pitch in to help colleagues cope with crises

12/01/2007

When a Meridian Health employee lacked the money to bury a parent, she turned to the organization’s “When In Need” (WIN) employee emergency fund. Meridian Health, a group of nonprofit health care organizations in central New Jersey, created the WIN fund in 2001 …

Preparing for Florida’s minimum wage hike

12/01/2007

Florida’s minimum wage rises to $6.79 per hour on Jan. 1, 2008. Florida law requires the Agency for Workforce Innovation to adjust the minimum wage annually to reflect changes in the U.S. Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners and clerical workers in the South. The index rose 1.85% in the year ending Sept. 1, 2007 …

Leap-Year compensation: cutting the check

12/01/2007

Q. I am new to HR and our payroll department just told me they’re lowering salaried employees’ pay next year to offset the additional pay period caused by the leap year. They said salaried employees are paid based on a yearly amount, and we normally have 26 pay periods but we will have 27 in 2008. My initial thought is, “This is not going to go over well.” — J.S., Pennsylvania …

Worker notification requirements when layoffs are planned for 2008

12/01/2007

Q. We employ nearly 100 employees at a facility in San Jose. What type of notice must we provide if we are planning to lay off more than half of these employees during the first quarter of next year? …

New law puts curbs on Social Security numbers on paychecks

12/01/2007

Q. We’ve heard that a new law changes how we use Social Security numbers in the workplace. Is that true? …

Did Clearmore Construction clear more than it earned?

12/01/2007

Construction company owner Paul Garrett, of Warne in western North Carolina, has been charged with conspiring to defraud Alabama Power Company (APCO) of $250,000 …